1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle bracket for attaching a vehicle component to a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a vehicle bracket is known where airbag devices are attached to both of left and right roof side rails, respectively (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-83781 and 2006-96291, and Japanese Patent No. 3160670). FIG. 7 referred here is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional vehicle bracket used for attaching an airbag device.
As shown in FIG. 7, a vehicle bracket 55 is for attaching a folded airbag 53 to a vehicle inside of a roof side rail 70 and includes a base portion 55a, a fixation portion 55e to be fixed on the rail 70, attachment portions 55b of the airbag 53, and a rotation stopper portion 55c for preventing the vehicle bracket 55 from being rotated with respect to the rail 70.
The base portion 55a is formed of a plate and disposed between the roof side rail 70 and the airbag 53. The fixation portion 55e is formed so as to protrude upward from an upper end of the base portion 55a and has a bolt hole H11. Each of the attachment portions 55b is formed of a segment folded back from the base portion 55a toward the airbag 53, and is provided at front and rear of the base portion 55a so as to interpose the fixation portion 55e (see FIG. 7). The rotation stopper portion 55c is formed of a segment folded back toward a vehicle outside from the fixation portion 55e. On the other hand, in the airbag 53 is formed a tongue 53a where a bolt hole H12 is formed, and in the roof side rail 70 are formed a bolt hole H13 and a hole H14 at positions corresponding to the bolt hole H11 of the fixation portion 55e and the rotation stopper portion 55c, respectively.
In accordance with the vehicle bracket 55, a bolt B11 inserted through the bolt holes H12, H11, and H13 is screwed in a nut N11, and thereby, the fixation portion 55e and the tongue 53a of the airbag 53 are fastened to the roof side rail 70. In other words, the fixation portion 55e and the tongue 53a are attached to the roof side rail 70 through the vehicle bracket 55. At this time, the rotation stopper portion 55c of the vehicle bracket 55 fits in the hole H14 of the roof side rail 70, and thereby, the vehicle bracket 55 is prevented from being rotated with respect to the side rail 70.
However, in accordance with the conventional vehicle bracket 55, if an airbag (not shown) of a symmetric structure to the airbag 53 is attempted to be attached to a roof side rail (not shown) positioned on an opposite side of a vehicle, a vehicle bracket (not shown) of a symmetric structure to the vehicle bracket 55 must be prepared separately. Furthermore, if the vehicle bracket 55 is attempted to be used in common with attaching the airbag to the roof side rail on the opposite side, the rotation stopper portion 55c is positioned at a reverse position changed in a forward-and-rearward direction. Therefore, in accordance with the vehicle bracket 55, the hole H14 must be separately provided in the roof side rail 70 at a position corresponding to the rotation stopper portion 55c of the reverse position. Furthermore, if the roof side rails 70, 70 of a same structure are attempted to be used on both of left and right sides of the vehicle, the hole H14 is separately provided, and thereby, a hole not used for fitting the rotation stopper portion 55 therein results in being also formed excessively in the roof side rails 70, 70.
In other words, in accordance with the conventional vehicle bracket 55, when a vehicle component such as an airbag disposed on both of left and right sides of a vehicle is attached to a vehicle body, there is a problem that an efficiency of attaching the vehicle component to the vehicle body is poor, because two kinds of vehicle brackets of a symmetric structure must be prepared for the left and right sides of the vehicle and a hole must be separately provided in roof side rails.
Consequently, there is a need for a vehicle bracket excellent in the efficiency of attaching a vehicle component to a vehicle body, compared to a conventional vehicle bracket.